


once more unto the breach

by YourPalYourBuddy



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourPalYourBuddy/pseuds/YourPalYourBuddy
Summary: Dex asks, “Why don’t you wanna go over there,” and Chowder sighs.“You’re not allowed to chirp me for this.” He waits for them to nod to continue, crossing his arms. “I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I don’t know how to flirt.”Nursey’s grinning and opening his mouth when Chowder widens his eyes at him. Dex elbows him. Nursey coughs.“That’s what you have us for,” he says.______________________Charmer meet-cute, with help from Nursey & Dex :) from Chowder's POV
Relationships: Chris "Chowder" Chow & Derek "Nursey" Nurse & William "Dex" Poindexter, Chris "Chowder" Chow/Caitlin Farmer
Comments: 15
Kudos: 100





	once more unto the breach

**Author's Note:**

> This was “I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I don’t know how to flirt!” from [this prompt list :)](https://ivecarvedawoodenheart.tumblr.com/post/615347981486587904/prompt-list-5)

________________________

Chowder thinks he may go into shock. 

“Hey. You okay, C?”

“Sure,” he says weakly, trying to look across the Quad without Nursey or Dex knowing he’s looking. Is this creepy? It might be creepy; he doesn’t mean any harm, but it’s probably at least a little creepy to be looking this long, even if she is the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. 

Chowder stares intently at the ground until the girl laughs again. This time, his friends catch the movement.

Nursey says, _“Ah,”_ and Dex smirks. 

“Someone catch your eye?” Dex says. “C’mon, let’s say hi—”

Chowder glares at them. “Dex, what were you saying about how annoying it is when Nursey recites that ‘Once more unto the breach’ speech before the third period?”

It works immediately: Dex squawks, Nursey raises his eyebrows and launches into another Shakespearean monologue, Dex tries to get him to shut up, Nursey gets louder. Chowder is forgotten. He spins a leaf by the stem, letting their bickering wash over him. 

A prickle on the back of his neck and he sits up, letting the leaf droop, and he catches the girl’s eye. He blushes. She tilts her head to the side and glances away, saying something to one of her friends. The friend narrows her eyes. Even from here Chowder spots the second they both see him again. The friend elbows the girl in the side. The girl pushes at her.

Chowder — doesn’t know what to do. Is that a good sign? That could mean anything. Maybe he _is_ being creepy, and the girl was telling her friend and the friend was agreeing with her. There’s no way for him to bring this up without Nursey and Dex chirping him to hell and back, or at least fining him something awful. Chowder bites his lip.

Their argument seems to be winding down. “—just pretentious is all, you have to admit that,” Dex is saying, shoulders tight and hands gesturing wide. 

Nursey shrugs. “I’ll admit it,” he says, slinging his arm over Chowder’s shoulders, “if you help me help C here talk to that girl.”

“Absolutely not—”

“Why not?” Dex is smirking again. 

This is so infuriating that Chowder says, “I hate that you two agree on this and not on the fact that, sometimes, it’s important as defensemen to, you know, help out the goalie instead of like, I dunno, arguing on the ice.”

Does he like pitting his friends against each other? No. Is it necessary in this moment? Absolutely. Nursey and Dex glare at each other and for a second, the sweetest fleeting second, Chowder thinks he has them. 

“Nice try,” Dex says mildly.

“Yeah, we’re best buds.” Nursey gives Dex a noogie and Dex shoves him off and Chowder is sure they’re about to start swinging when they calm supernaturally quickly. Nursey adds, “Takes more than that to tear us apart.”

Dex asks, “Why don’t you wanna go over there,” and Chowder sighs.

“You’re not allowed to chirp me for this.” He waits for them to nod to continue, crossing his arms. “I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I don’t know how to flirt.”

Nursey’s grinning and opening his mouth when Chowder widens his eyes at him. Dex elbows him. Nursey coughs. 

“That’s what you have us for,” he says.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chowder watches the girl stand, pull her friend to her feet, and meet his gaze. She rubs her neck and seems to debate taking a step toward him when her friend says something in her ear. The rest of the group seem to say something and one of them tosses a volleyball at the girl, and she and her friend sit back down.

Chowder says, “Yeah, right.” 

“No, really,” Dex says. He’s using his _I’m Mr. Logical_ voice. “Let us help the goalie out.”

____________

Ten minutes later and the whole team floods into River Quad, loudly talking about the Bruins game that was on the other night, and everyone in the Quad seems to roll their eyes at the same time. The girl and her friends continue their conversation. 

Chowder can’t tell if it’s intentional or not that she has her back to them and has barely enough time to tell himself _she can’t hate you, she doesn’t even know you_ before Dex all but pulls him onto his back. Chowder holds on without thinking about it.

Then he does. “What’s happening,” he asks.

Next to them, Nursey crouches so Bitty can hop on his back as Shitty jogs to the other side of the Quad. Lardo gets on Jack’s back, Ransom and Holster team up, and Ollie — or Wicks? — kneels so Wicks — or Ollie? — can join them at what is, unmistakably, turning into a starting line. 

The volleyball girls are just off the path. He pieces it together all at once. His heartbeat stops and then rushes away from him.

“Oh,” Chowder says, “fuck.”

Dex says, “Okay, just remember that we’ve got your back, alright?” and Shitty shouts, “You motherfuckers ready?”

“Dex,” Chowder tries. 

Dex pats his leg. “One more, unto the breach,” he mutters. Chowder would kick him if he didn’t think he’d drop him. 

_“Go!”_

Dex takes off like there’s a shark trying to bite his ass and Chowder’s just braced himself for impact when his whole world is leaves and a girl’s voice saying, “Ow!”

“Oh my god are you okay?” he says. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“I’m fine! Are you okay?” She sits up, holding her arm awkwardly. 

“Are you sure?” 

She says, “Yeah,” and one of her friends says, “Cait, that elbow okay?”

 _Cait._ Her friend pulls a leaf out of her hair. She brushes her off, glancing at him, and this sets off a flurry of butterflies in his stomach. 

“Here,” Cait says. She reaches out and eases a leaf from his hair, smiling, and Chowder thinks he’s going to die.

“Your eyes are the same color as a Sharks jersey.” He blinks. “That was a weird thing to say.”

She bites her lip like she’s trying not to laugh at him. He doesn’t think he’d mind it, if she did. “Sort of.”

Someone calls his name from behind him. He turns slightly, not yet willing to go back to his team, but they’re coming toward him. From Nursey’s back, Bitty calls, “Chowder, are you alright? Nursey, let’s — Dex, I can _not_ believe you just dropped our starting goalie.”

Dex says something that sounds distinctly pleased and only slightly apologetically. Ransom and Holster strike up a whispered conversation with two girls Chowder thinks he may have met before at a kegster and he focuses on them until he hears his name, and then looks at the ground.

“I’m really sorry about that,” he says, grimacing. 

Cait nudges his arm with her elbow. “It’s okay,” she says.

He should say more than that. Nursey and Dex are mouthing something at him that he can’t read and Ransom and Holster are still saying his name, and one of the girls says something about Screw, and it falls on him like a giant wearing hockey pads.

“Um,” he says, and Cait smiles again. It makes him go weak in the knees; he’s glad they’re still in the leaf pile or he’d be falling over. He takes out his phone. “Would you maybe — would you wanna go to Annie’s with me sometime to make up for this? I promise I won’t fall on you this time.”

Her smile broadens. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’d like that,” she says, and types her number in his phone. The butterflies fly even faster at that.

Impulsively he says, “Do you wanna go now?”

“Cait’s got pracky,” one of the girls says. Ransom and Holster pout at her. She death glares them.

“I have pracky,” Cait says. She sounds like she doesn’t wanna go. “But — use that, okay? Text me sometime, uh —?”

“Chris,” he says. “My name’s Chris.”

“Chris,” she repeats. It sounds like a smile in her voice. “Text me sometime.”

He says, “I will.”

“You’d better,” she says, and then she joins her friends as they head out. She looks back at him right before they turn the corner and waves. He waves back.

“Mad wheels, C,” Holster says. Ransom whistles.

“I told you we had your back,” Dex says.

“I guess so,” Chowder says. 

He can’t stop smiling; it grew on him slowly and then spread everywhere like it doesn’t want to be held in, or can’t be. He has her name and number in his phone, and she wants him to text her.

They chirp him gently on the way back to the Haus but even the threat of fines can’t pull him down. Bitty announces he’s going to bake a pie and Jack follows him into the kitchen, saying something about _someone needs to make sure you stop tweeting enough to keep it from burning_ and Ransom and Holster are dissecting something the volleyball girls said to them and Nursey and Dex are arguing again, loudly, over who gets credit for this, and Cait wants him to text her.

Chowder settles onto the couch and marvels at her name in his contacts before tapping “New Message.” When it sends, she responds immediately. He smiles at his phone. He doesn’t stop for a long, long time.

________________________

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! this was my first Charmer fic, so pls lemme know what you think here or [come find me on tumblr :)](https://ivecarvedawoodenheart.tumblr.com/)


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